Downfall
by Nonny The Anon One
Summary: Danny has fallen off the deep end, what has caused his downfall?
1. Chapter 1

**I said I was never going to put this story up, but I found a solution to my problem so here it is, dedicated to none other than Bluemyst19, my living muse.**

Downfall

The spring rains drenched the streets of Amity Park, washing away the remnants of a long nightmare. Green glowing ectoplasm flowed down the gutters, diluted by the cleansing waters and burnt away by the first lights of dawn, perhaps going back into the realm in which it belonged.

Three figures sat on the curb, their heads hanging down in what could have been exhaustion. The cool rain drenched them, and they shivered, but didn't move. They couldn't move, they didn't want to move. Moving meant accepting their fates. Moving meant letting go. Moving meant defeat.

Jasmine Fenton, 22 year old sister of Daniel Fenton, seasoned college student walked up, put her hands on her hips and sighed. She looked at the pitiful trio in sympathy then sat beside the girl with the short dark hair in complete disarray, tattered purple leggings and heavy combat boots.

The girl leaned into Jazz and the older girl held back her urge to cry as she put her arm around Sam Manson. Jazz couldn't tell if Sam was shivering from the cold, or shaking because she was crying; maybe it was both.

She looked at the boy sitting beside Sam. He was hunched over, his red hat missing, his yellow shirt had a few burnt looking holes in the sleeve. He was staring forlornly into the street, watching the ectoplasm as it faded away. Tucker Foley bore the look of someone who'd just watched everything he loved about life, crumble at his feet.

The third figure sat ram rod straight and stared almost unblinkingly off into the distance. Her long wavy hair was wet and reverting to kinky curls. Her orange headband was missing, she had bloody scratches traveling down the length of her arm. She looked almost like a zombie, sitting there with a blank expression on her face.

"Mom and Dad want you guys to come inside," Jazz said and Sam broke into sobs of despair. No one moved.

"They've called your parents," Jazz continued. Tucker turned his head and looked tiredly at Jazz.

"Do they want us to come home?" he asked hoarsely. Jazz shook her head and he sighed and turned his attention back to the river of ectoplasm and water seeping down the road.

"My parents are at a business meeting in Spain," Sam said blankly. "Grandma is in Florida. I doubt your parents spoke to them."

"My father is probably angry," Valerie whispered bleakly. "I'm going to be grounded for the rest of my life."

"It's really cold out here," Jazz told them. "Mom and Dad have blankets and hot cocoa." Not one of the trio acknowledged her words and she sighed. If she couldn't get them to come in, then her father would be out to forcibly remove them from the curb and the rain. Jazz had talked her parents into letting her try first. They were doubtful about letting Jazz take on the burden, but she explained to them that she needed to do something, to be useful.

"Tucker," Jazz said in a no nonsense voice. "Don't you have a job to do?" Tucker looked at her in confusion and Jazz looked at Sam then back at Tucker. He winced a little at the look in Jazz's eyes then took a deep breath.

"Sam," Tucker started as he put his hand on her back. "Let's go inside."

"No," Sam said. "I'm not leaving this spot until he comes back." Tucker stood shakily, took Sam by the arm and pulled the girl to her feet. She was too weak to do anything but squeak in protest. Tucker murmured something to Sam then gave Jazz a look which said, "How could you do this to me? Traitor." Jazz swallowed hard as she pressed her lips together and watched Tucker and Sam walk slowly into the house. She could see the figures of her parents standing in the door way, ready with warm towels and blankets.

"I can't go in there Jazz," Valerie said bleakly. "I don't belong."

"Don't be silly,' Jazz told her. "Of course you belong. You're one of Danny's friends. He…he would never turn one of his friends out."

"Isn't my father coming to pick me up?" The hunter asked.

"Mom talked to him. He said you can stay as long as you needed."

Valerie looked at Jazz for a moment then nodded her head. "You go in," she started. "I'll just wait a little longer."

"No," Jazz said firmly. "There will be no more waiting in the rain. You will come inside, now." She stood over Valerie for a moment, wondering if she'd have to use force, but the younger girl finally stood and walked swiftly into the house.

* * *

Jazz sighed deeply as she walked through the door and was immediately covered in a toasty warm blanket and enveloped in the arms of her father. She sighed deeply as she sank into her father's embrace and continued to resist the urge to cry.

"There's cocoa in the kitchen," her mother said as she cradled Valerie, who had broken down in Maddie's comforting arms and was crying her heart out on the woman's shoulder. "Jack go with Jazz." Jack nodded his head and lead his daughter away.

Sam and Tucker were sitting at the table both wrapped in blankets and staring blankly into cups of steaming cocoa. Jazz sat then looked at the pair. Danny's best friends. They had been pretty much joined at the hip since the second grade. Jazz had postulated theories that the trio was interdependent, unable to function properly one without the other.

The theory had started out as a silly joke when she first became interested in psychology and human nature, but her observation of the friends which she began when she was thirteen, and still kept notes on, showed that her assumption was true.

Both Tucker and Sam seemed completely lost. Jazz wondered vaguely what would happen to them if Danny disappeared for good. Would they recover? Would they break away from each other, becoming separate individuals? Or would they function like an animal who had lost an arm, going on as usual, but making compensations for the loss?

"You guys should drink your cocoa," Jazz said between sips of the hot chocolaty liquid. Both friends ignored her.

"Sam," Jazz called to the Goth girl, who didn't seem to hear her. "Drink your cocoa." Jazz bit her lip then looked at Tucker. He was staring down at the table, just like he had at the rivers of ectoplasm and water earlier.

"Tucker!" Jazz said in a business like tone. "Drink your cocoa!" Tucker's eyes flickered from the spot on the table where they were focused to the hot steaming liquid. His hands moved jerkily to the cup where he clasped it a moment then lifted it from the table, took a few small sips then placed it back down then looked at her as though he sought her approval.

"Good," Jazz told him as she smiled softly. "Now tell Sam to drink her cocoa." Tucker's eyes flickered and Jazz felt again as though Tucker thought she betrayed him.

"You need to drink your cocoa, Sam," Tucker said sadly. Sam's eyes flickered up to Tucker's face and then down to the cup. She picked it up slowly, took one sip before placing it back on the table then resuming her blank stare. Tucker looked again at Jazz as if to say, "Are you happy now? Can you leave me alone?"

Jazz smiled kindly at him as she picked up her own cup and took a few sips as if to say, "see it's not so bad." Tucker blinked a few times then turned his eyes back down and fixed his eyes to the same spot on the table.

"Oh man," Jazz said as she sipped her cocoa, she wondered if the two friends would be able to function at all ever again. She could imagine them in a hospital together. Sam mostly catatonic, listening only to Tucker. Tucker one step out of catatonia needing to be issued orders to complete the most basic of tasks.

The tears which had been prickling at Jazz's eyes finally slipped down her cheek as she reached for Tucker's glasses. He didn't even seem to notice that she'd taken them. She stood, walked to the sink then washed the rain spot spattered lenses then turned back and put them gently on his face. Tucker looked at her a moment as she replaced them on his face.

"Do you know where my hat is?" he asked almost hopefully. Jazz shook her head. Tucker sighed sadly the refocused his gaze on the table.

Jazz stood and looked from the kitchen into the living room. Her father was standing at the window, her mother was on the couch with her arm around Valerie.

"I'll be right back," she said to Sam and Tucker then slipped quietly out the back door. She held her blanket around her tightly as she ran around to the front yard then down the street, her eyes scanning the ground and the trees. Finally, she found it under a shrub, a red beret. She sighed as she picked it up, then ran back into the house.

"Jazz!" her mother who was now in the kitchen, scolded. "What were you doing?"

"Just looking for Tucker's hat," Jazz answered as she brandished the item in question and her mother gave her a look of consternation.

"You need to go upstairs and get out of those wet clothes young lady," her mother scolded.

"In a second Mom," Jazz told her as she dusted off the hat then placed it on Tucker's head.

"Thanks Jazz," Tucker said softly.

"You're welcome," Jazz told him as she stood behind Tucker and put her hands on his shoulders. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

"Upstairs Jazz," Maddie ordered. "Now. Take a warm shower first. You've been chilled to the bone."

"I'm going," Jazz said. She was reluctant to leave Tucker and Sam, she felt very deeply that they needed her.

"Where's Valerie?"

"Asleep on the couch," Maddie answered then pointed up the stairs. Jazz sighed then looked at Sam who was still staring blankly at nothing.

"Tuck," Jazz said softly. "Take care of Sam." He nodded and she turned to head upstairs and take her shower and change.

* * *

"Something's really wrong with Sam," Maddie said to Jack as she watched Sam sitting at the table.

"She's catatonic," Jazz said as she placed a sandwich in front of Valerie, who thanked her softly. Sam was asleep in Jazz's room. Tucker had been placed in a cot at the foot of the bed, both had refused to stay in Danny's room.

"Tucker's not much better," Jack remarked as he shoved cookies into his mouth.

"Sam listens to Tucker," Jazz started. "If you want to talk to Sam. You have to go through Tucker."

"Tucker won't listen to me," Maddie sighed in frustration.

"He only listens to you," Jack remarked as he wiped cookie crumbs from his chest. "Why is that?"

"Because he's in love with her," Valerie said almost bitterly.

Jazz felt her cheeks burning and she cleared her throat. "I don't think it's that," she said quickly. "It's just the authorative tone I use."

"Yes," Maddie said as he held back a smile. "That must be it. You're so good at helping people Jazz."

Jazz nodded her head and took a deep breath. "I think I should go check on them," she said as she looked up the stairs.

"I think," Maddie began as she pulled out a chair and pointed to it. "That you should sit down and eat, and while you do, you can tell us what happened to your brother."

"She doesn't know," Valerie said softly, rescuing Jazz from having to spill her brother's secret to her parents. Jack and Maddie looked thoughtfully at Valerie.

"A ghost took him," she half lied. "We can't go after him right away, or we would have told you." She looked at Jazz who looked back with wide worried eyes.

"I-I really need to check on Sam and Tucker," Jazz said, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as she fled the kitchen. She didn't want to lie to her parents, she didn't want to sit there and listen to Valerie lie to them either, even if it was only by omission. She needed to talk to Sam and Tucker before the decision was made to tell her parents about Danny.

* * *

Jazz opened the door to her room and sighed. Sam was laying curled up in the fetal position with her back to the door. Tucker was laying on his back with his eyes closed. Jazz hesitated a moment then crept into the room and sat on the side of the cot. She looked into his sleeping face a moment then looked at Sam, whose breathing patterns indicated she was asleep.

"Tuck," Jazz whispered softly as she put his hand on his face. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her sleepily, sighing deeply and smiling slightly.

"What?" he asked.

Jazz moved her hair behind her ear and looked worriedly into Tucker's eyes as his hand moved over hers, which was still on his face. He kept her hand clasped in his as he sat up, then looked at Sam.

"Are you all right?" Jazz asked breathlessly as she realized how close Tucker was. If she tilted her head right and leaned forward, she could kiss him. How crazy was that? Had they all lost their minds? Or maybe only she had…she and Danny.

"Yeah," Tucker answered tiredly as he looked toward Sam. "I don't know about her though." Jazz frowned and a look of uncertainty washed across his face.

Jazz ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Tucker for a moment, he was watching her with sorrowful hazel eyes and her heart squeezed in sympathy. He sighed shakily as he moved Jazz's hair back off of her face, and off her shoulders. She shivered a little then moved toward him, seeking to give comfort, and maybe take a little too; not intending to kiss him, just to hug him, but their lips met anyway, settling together as if that's where they belonged, firmly attached to each other.

The kiss ended as abruptly as it began and the two pulled away and looked at each other in shock. It was impossible to tell who moved first or what the other thought, but they were soon in another embrace. Jazz had to tease Tucker's lips apart with her tongue as she tried to soften his stiff lips, but soon their tongues were sliding across each other almost frantically, arms around each other, holding on tight.

Jazz could taste the salty flavor of tears as she kissed her brother's friend…her bother's friend, she kept saying it in her head, trying to cool her thoughts and control the situation as a strange fire raged through her, forcing her to cling to the boy she'd always considered unbearably annoying and incredibly geeky.

"J-Jazz," Tucker stuttered as they broke for air. His eyes were still closed and he was shaking.

Jazz opened her mouth, not sure what to say, her lips were still tingling and aching for more. She made some lame excuse to herself about testing out physical attraction as she put both hands on the side of his face and kissed him again, not needing to force her tongue past his lips this time as he opened his mouth to her freely.

The embrace ceased being frantic and hungry and became something else, slow and loving and incredibly sweet. Jazz felt as if all her bones were melting as Tucker held her. They moved so she was almost in his lap, held tightly in his arms. She was aware of making small singing humming noises and she was content, not ready to think rationally and end this moment, to just to love and be loved.

"I don't care that you guys are playing kissy face," came a bitter and angry voice from the bed. "But do you have to do it while I'm in the room?"

Tucker and Jazz broke apart, and looked toward Sam in complete and utter shock. Her back was still toward them, and she still seemed to be asleep. Jazz's face was bright red and both she and Tucker were fighting to catch their breath.

Jazz opened and closed her mouth as she looked at Tucker who was blinking at her in surprise. "I'm sorry," she finally said then stood and ran from the room. Tucker watched her go then laid back down on the cot, still breathing heavily as the feeling of loss overwhelmed him.

"Thanks a lot," he said bitterly to Sam. "My first kiss ever and you had to go and ruin it."

"Well my first kiss was a fake out make out," Sam spat. "So screw you Tuck."

"That doesn't count," Tucker said almost dreamily. "It only counts when you both mean it."

"And you think she really meant it, Tuck?" Sam asked angrily as she pulled her knees up tighter into her chest. "Get real. She's a Fenton. Fentons are clueless, they play with hearts and their kisses mean nothing!"

Tucker gave her a sad look she didn't see, then laid back down on the cot and pressed his fingers against lips that were desperately missing the ones who they'd been tasting earlier. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, wondering if he'd ever get to kiss Jazz again.

* * *

"Oh god!" Jazz said as she stared at her kiss swollen lips in the bathroom mirror. "What did I just do?" She turned on the tap and splashed her burning cheeks with cold water. She opened her eyes then screamed in fright as she looked into a pair of glowing green eyes moving at her through the mirror.

"Hey Jazz," Danny said, his voice almost sing songy and sinister.

"Danny," she sighed in relief. "Where have you been?"

"Getting my head on straight," Danny answered then laughed scarily. "I went to Sam's house. She's not there. She's not in my room. Where is she?"

Jazz looked at Danny in shock. "I-I don't know Danny," she said slowly so she had time to think. "What do you mean she's not home?"

"Don't play with me Jazz," Danny said as he pushed his sister back against the bathroom wall.

"She's with Tucker," Jazz answered, it was the truth. Danny looked confused for a moment then took off. Jazz then ran into her room.

"Tuck!" she said breathlessly. "Danny was here! Looking for Sam!"

"What?" both Tucker and Sam said in union. Jazz shot a brief look at Tucker and flushed bright red again.

"He went to Tucker's house, I think," Jazz told them. "We should get out of here before he gets back!"

"Why?" Sam asked. Jazz didn't have an answer.

"Because Danny's gone off the deep end," Tucker finally said. "Lost his marbles."

* * *

**OK now I am going to work on Disclosures, come hell or high water. **

**Review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter has been sitting on my hard drive for awhile. I just needed to clean it up. I'm working on Disclosures, just having a very difficult time with it. **

**And yes this story does start out somewhere in the middle XD. **

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Chapter Two

He sat on the bed, his legs drawn up into his chest, his white haired head resting on his knees, and taking deep, slow, calming breaths. He tried desperately to catch the thoughts whirling around in his mind, to slow down his thinking so he could get a hold of himself.

Green glowing liquid oozed slowly from the gashes on his arms, deep slashes ruining his suit, his skin, and the dark bed in which he had taken up residence. He stretched out and laid his head back on the pillows, pulling the silk red comforter around him to fight the chill invading his bones.

Muted sunlight streamed through the heavy velvet curtains, taunting him with daylight, and the fact that they were probably looking for him. He didn't want them to find him, to finish his destruction, to force him back into a form, a mold in which he no longer fit. He wanted to escape.

Glowing green eyes closed as he focused on the pain of his wounds, trying to use the stinging ache as a means to direct his thoughts, but these were wounds which they had given him, trying to force him back to his human form, back into submission, back into prison.

He was tired, so tired. He didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't want to be what they wanted him to be. The noble hero fighting for truth, justice and all that garbage. He wasn't Superman, he didn't want to be a hero. He just wanted to be, to do what he wanted, to be free. He wanted to be with her, even if she didn't love him, at least not the way he needed her to. Being without her hurt!

Then there was the other one, she made demands of him. He did his best to make her happy. He'd done his best to give up ghost fighting for her, to change himself to be the perfect boyfriend! But, it just wasn't enough, he knew she wasn't happy. He felt twisted and torn inside with pressure from her, pressure from school, pressure from his family and all the secrets he kept until finally he just snapped. He was going to take what he wanted and be damned with the consequences. No more mister nice guy.

He decided that he needed Sam, in order to think. She would fight him at first, but it wouldn't take her long to understand, he'd make her understand. She had to understand. She would accept him again eventually, she was his friend if nothing else, that was something to build on. It didn't matter to him that she'd broken off their romantic relationship years ago and had been dating others, he wanted her back. Three of her boyfriends he had managed to scare off. One had tried to stick around anyway, he'd been stubborn, Danny had to deal with him in alternate ways.

Where was she? He continued to lay in bed and wait for her as he cuddled into the blankets breathing in the comforting smell of her. He shuddered wishing he could have told her how he felt before having to revert to such drastic measures, there would be no going back now.

They would become his enemies, the people who he always cared about the most, his brainy annoying sister constantly trying to gauge the state of his mind, running him through her amateur psychoanalysis, lecturing him about responsibility, and how not to abuse his powers. Part of him couldn't wait to shove the fact that she was wrong, right in her face, and yell at her that he couldn't be redeemed from what he was about to become, because he didn't want to be redeemed.

Then there was Tucker, who gratefully had no expectations, except that Danny be his friend. Someday, he hoped he could make amends with his friend, he knew Tucker would understand, maybe not right away, but, eventually.

He sighed impatiently as he looked to the door. She always helped him. When he was wounded she was the one who cleaned him up. It didn't matter that he had fought against her only a few short hours ago, what mattered was she was supposed to be there for him like always, and she wasn't home. He was angry. He was going to find her. He didn't care how illogical his thinking was. He knew what he wanted and he was going to get it.

* * *

She wasn't at her house, so he assumed she was still at his. The first thing he did was check his room. It was still in the state of disarray he'd left it in, with books strewn across the room in tatters, posters ripped from the wall, everything on his shelves spilled onto the floor, clothes torn from the drawers, his bed tipped and shredded. He had to smile a little bit at the destruction, it made him proud, it was his first act in his new life. 

The room hadn't been touched, not since he'd destroyed it with her standing there watching him stoically. Tucker had been trying to calm him down and he was just angry. He'd had enough.

He stuck his head out of the wall and saw his sister run into the bathroom. He waited until he heard the water running and then made his appearance. The befuddled look on her face amused him, but really all he cared about was finding Sam.

Jazz told him that she was with Tucker. Why would she be with Tucker? He made his way to the house of his friend with seeds of jealousy growing in the pit of his stomach. What if she had turned to Tucker for comfort? What if Tucker was holding her? Hugging her? Kissing her? He ground his teeth as he flew faster, bursting into Tucker's room with a feral growl, then looking around in dismay when he found it empty.

"Jazz," he growled then flew back to his house, skimming by Sam's house one more time to check and make sure she wasn't there. He flew from the lab, all the way to the ops center, scanning the house for her, and eventually he found her, sitting on Jazz's bed.

He slipped invisibly into the room and made his way over to her. She jolted slightly and he smiled. She always seemed to know when he was around, he could rarely fool her.

"Danny's here," Tucker said. He couldn't fool Tucker either.

"What?" Jazz asked in alarm. "Danny?"

Danny floated forward slowly, watching Sam's face. Her expression was closed, angry. His heart twisted. She should be happy for him, but then he remembered that she too held him to a standard which didn't allow him to use his power in a manner which pleased him. She was the only reason he'd held out so long.

He held his breath, afraid that she'd hear him as he looked into her soft purple eyes. He smiled and longed to move her hair away from her face, but he couldn't make his move yet, he had to watch her first. Catch her off guard. Her expression was too wary.

"Is he still here?" Jazz asked as she reached over and clutched Tucker's hand.

Danny shook his head as he moved behind Sam and wrapped his arms around her. Sam made no move except to stiffen slightly. He lifted her hair and placed a cool kiss on the back of her neck and she shivered. He smiled against her skin, glad that she didn't alert Tucker and Jazz to his presence.

"Sam?" Tucker asked. She looked at him for a moment then took a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry, what?" she questioned as Danny cuddled her.

"Tell them you should all go downstairs," Danny whispered in her ear. He could feel the tension in her body and he rubbed her arms, willing her to cooperate.

"Please Sam," he whispered. "I need your help."

"I-I think we should go downstairs," Sam said. Both Tucker and Jazz gave her an odd look. "I just think it would be better. I'd feel better."

"Okay," Tucker said as he and Jazz moved toward the door. They stopped and looked at Sam who stood slowly.

"I'm right behind you," she said. The moment they turned away, Danny lifted her into his arms and disappeared with her.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Sam questioned, not sure if she felt relieved or scared. "What happened to you?" Danny didn't answer. He didn't even make himself visible until he put her down in her room. 

She looked at her messy bed then turned and looked at Danny and gasped. "You're bleeding!"

"I know," Danny said as he watched her run into the bathroom and come back with her first aid kit.

"What happened to you?" Sam asked as she made him sit on the bed and began tending to his wounds. He didn't answer.

"We've all been so worried," she continued. "Everyone thinks you've lost your mind." He only blinked at her in response. She stepped back and looked at him.

"Shouldn't you change back?"

"No," he answered.

She frowned. "Why not?"

"I don't want to be human anymore," he answered flatly then put his hands around her waist and put the top of his head against her stomach.

"Oh Danny," Sam said as she threaded her fingers through his hair and sighed. "You don't mean that."

"I do," he told her angrily.

"Don't be stupid," Sam said as he looked up at her. He frowned angrily and she sighed. He pulled her down to sit beside him and she looked trustingly into his eyes.

"Will you come with me?" he asked pleadingly. "I don't want to go alone. I want you to come with me."

Sam shook her head in confusion. "Go with you where?"

"Anywhere," Danny told her. "Away from here."

"Why?" Sam asked as she tried to pull away from him, but he held her tight. She finally got away and stood, though he still held her.

"Because I'm sick of the expectation. I'm sick of fighting and being unappreciated. I can't do it anymore, Sam." Sam sighed deeply as he buried his face in her stomach. She hugged him tight for a moment then moved to sit beside him.

"I can't go with you Danny," she said as she met his glowing gaze. "And you shouldn't leave either." Danny watched her for a moment then shook his head.

"You're going with me." He told her firmly. "You don't have a choice."

"What?" Sam shrieked as she tried to push away from him. They ended up struggling, but ultimately, Danny was stronger than she was. She ended up pinned to the bed, her arms held above her head as he sat on her stomach and glared down at her.

"Don't tell me what to do either," he said to her. "I don't want to be without you! I'm leaving. You're coming with me!"

"Daniel James Fenton," Sam growled angrily. "Let me go right now. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you!" Danny only smiled at her before bending down as she writhed to get away and pressed a kiss on her mouth, causing her to still and look at him in shock.

"Sam," he said softly as he looked into her eyes, he failed to see the angry fire in those lilac depths as he bent down to kiss her again. She brought up her knee and kicked him in the groin. He gasped in shock and she was able to scramble off the bed and away from him.

"What did you do that for?" he complained.

"Because you're behaving like an animal!" Sam shouted. "How dare you try and paw me like that Danny!"

"I wasn't pawing you!" Danny exclaimed. "I was just going to kiss you."

"You were holding me down, against my will!" Sam accused. "That's pawing me! I don't like it." A very dangerous expression grew on Danny's face as he rose from the bed and stalked toward Sam.

"Don't take another step!" Sam warned, feeling scared of Danny for the first time in her life. "Danny!" She said shakily as he stopped a foot away from her.

"You're scaring me!" Sam told him as she pressed herself against the wall. A crazed grin spread across Danny's face as he put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him fearfully then closed her eyes shut tightly and turned her face away from him.

"Sam," he said softly as he moved his hand to her cheek and turned her face toward him. She kept her eyes squeezed shut tightly. He sighed as he fixed his gaze on her lips before letting go, and moving away.

Sam opened her eyes and looked at Danny who was standing with his back to her. She took a deep breath then fished her cell phone out of her pocket. She was just about to hit the speed dial for Tucker when the phone was snatched out of her hand by an extremely angry Danny.

"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled at her as he moved so his face was but an inch from hers, their noses were almost touching. Sam swallowed hard and shivered as she took in his angry appearance.

"I was going to call Tuck," she said. "Your friend, your best friend. Tucker."

"I have no friends," Danny told her, his eyes holding her gaze. She raised her eyebrows at him then started cracking up laughing. Danny put his hands on either side of her shoulders again and she put her hands on his chest and laughed heartily.

"This is a joke right?" Sam finally asked as she regained her breath. She smiled at Danny but then faltered as she realized he was still looking at her with an incredibly stern and serious expression. "Right?" she asked again.

"No," Danny said petulantly as stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm serious."

Sam raised her eyebrows at him again then smiled. "Really?"

"Yes," he growled as he fought the small smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. Sam stepped toward him and he looked at her warily.

"You're not going to change my mind," he told her. "I'm not going back."

Sam shook her head. "You sound like a spoiled child," she told him as she reached up and smoothed his hair out of his eyes. She smiled slightly at him and he sighed.

"Why do you have to make things so hard?" Danny asked bitterly. Sam shrugged as she smiled into his glowing eyes. He shook his head and looked away from her.

"Danny," Sam said as she slid her hand behind his neck. "What happened? Tell me why you're acting like this."

He kept his eyes fixed on a distant spot on the wall for awhile then turned his fiery gaze on Sam. Her breath caught in her throat as he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall, pressing himself against the length of her body.

"Sam," he whispered before covering her mouth with his own. Sam squeaked and tried weakly to push him away. "I want you back, Sam. My Sam," he whispered against her lips.

Sam turned her head away from Danny and closed her eyes. "Danny," she said breathlessly. "We've been through this. A million times. I'd rather be your friend…" Danny closed his eyes and put his forehead against hers.

"Talk to me," she began. "Why are you doing this? I thought everything was good…I thought.."

"We should start at the beginning," Danny said as he let go of Sam.

Sam rubbed her arms as she moved away from Danny. "Yeah the beginning sounds good."

Danny took a deep breath and ran his gloved hand through his snowy hair. "It all started in the second grade…," he began.

* * *

**And that dear readers is the end of the beginning and now the real story starts. **

**  
Review? **


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